


Who Exactly is Doctor Aster Serif?

by Mattie_the_Pand0rk



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Violence, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Medical Experimentation, Medical Torture, Other, Past Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 06:09:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17258984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mattie_the_Pand0rk/pseuds/Mattie_the_Pand0rk
Summary: You get the lucky opportunity to sit down and learn about the most obscured part of Monsterkind's history: The defining moments of Doctor Aster Serif.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Where do we start?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get a chance to meet the most renowned scientist of your time, and learn about his elusive past that had somehow been kept from even the most astute historians.

You thank Doctor Serif for sitting down with you for a full disclosure, private interview. He offers you tea, which you gratefully accept. This might be a long day, and any refreshments he may offer will definitely be welcomed. You know he has a lot to say, being one of the few Boss Monsters that survived the massacre that brought them all underground. It's good, cause you have a lot of questions anyway.   


Mm, milk oolong.   


“So. Where should I begin?” Doctor Serif quips, sipping his tea with a nervous shake to his hand.   


“Why not start at the beginning? I promise that what is said here will not leave this room, Doctor. As per the contract you had me sign. This is purely for my own personal curiosity, really. Boss Monsters are truly fascinating, with their knowledge that they can share with the world.”   


The doctor smiles sardonically, setting his cup down with a light clink of the porcelain. “I could start at the beginning… but it's quite a long tale. I don't think you have that sort of time today.” He leans forward with a sarcastic snort.   


“Actually, I blocked the next three days for this, so… fire away, Doctor.” You hated to admit just how excited you were about getting to speak directly to **the** Doctor Aster Wingdings Gaster Serif.   


Ever since Monsters emerged that hot summer day from Mount Ebott, you've been dying to know everything you could about them. With Gerson Boom's passing and the King himself too occupied with his flower shop and moving onward in history, it seems only fitting to speak with the only other Monster in existence to have lived through the Great Monster-Human war, gave Monsters Hope, and somehow witnessed the journey of the little Human who freed them. And the only Monster, it seems, to have an occluded past despite all of those accomplishments.

 

_So many questions._

 

He seems entertained by your excitement, though his anxiety about this still lingers in his good eye. “Alright. I can waste your time, on the condition you call me 'Aster.’ I would feel more comfortable about this if we could speak on a first-name basis.”  


You smile and chuckle to yourself. “Sure thing, Aster.” You ease into your chair some, getting comfy for the long haul.  


The round, pleasant Lich-class Monster seems to relax a bit, sitting back in his comfy-looking office chair. “You remind me a bit of the King and Queen's second child.”  


“What, the Ambassador?” You squint your eyes in confusion. You haven't had the privilege to meet them yet. You do wonder what they're like, being such an extraordinary child taking on so much responsibility.  


He shakes his head and smirks, pressing his finger tips together in thought. “Mm, no. I mean the First Fallen Human.”  


“Maybe we should start there, then?” You can't seem to recall that in any of the History you've learned of Monsters. That sounds like a pretty severe omission. “Or is that even later on in your story?”

  
“Mm, not too much later. I will start a bit before that, and then you will get to understand everything much more clearly. How does that sound?” An ominous glint shines in his white iris, a flash of purple teasing your vision in a blink. Weird. You get a strange chill up your spine, goose pimples pricking your arms. You have to set your teacup down to rub them down because they’re getting so uncomfortable.  


The lights seem to dim on their own, like an auditorium the moment before a play begins.  


It turns out, your mental analogy becomes reality. Aster's office becomes a 360 stage, and you both are smack dab in the middle of it as an audience to the world's most private performance.


	2. After the War, Prologue

Ghosts of a swarm of Monsters hobble past you both, and fade into the far reaches of the blackened room. You swear you can smell ash. The Royals and Gerson all look a lot younger. Aster looks… way different. You hardly recognize him. No scars on his face or damaged eye, and he's so gaunt he looks like a melted skeleton. It's uncomfortable to look at him like that. It actually makes him look… terrifying. “The end of the War… we were tired, desperate. As the Royal Scientist, I became an advisor to the King as well. Myself, Gerson, King Asgore and Queen Toriel all agreed to retreat, and bring our citizens and remaining fighters into the Mountain for safety, as our Hope and magic reserves were depleted. It was terrible. Our once fantastic kingdom shattered into rubble.    
  


“We had made so much progress in the sciences alongside Humans. And it all fell when they became greedy, as a handful do. We had running water, plenty of food for all, medicine of the likes you could not begin to imagine. SOUL-shattering, to say the least.”    
  


You resist the urge to interrupt him to ask more about the advances, but you choose to hold off until the end.    
  


“We became trapped under the Mountain, sealing all the world's magic with us in the process. All of the machines and advances we made above ground became useless, and time forgot us. But we pressed on as best we could. Started fresh, made our own way. Much as Humans linger after death, we held onto what Hope we had left. Our King and Queen gave us that glimpse of sunshine we all craved, as the Queen had been heavy with child through the War and had their Prince not much after we were sealed. Asriel, they named him.” He smirks. “You should know from basic history that Asgore is lousy with naming…”    
  


You can't help the bittersweet smile on your face. It was apparent when Asgore started up his flower shop… he named it “Flower Shop”. With a nod, Aster continues to weave this odd prequel to you.    
  


“Years went by, and Asriel grew into a sweet little lad. He was always helping his mother with cooking, going for walks to meet the Monsters with his father. He would even want to help me in the labs in the early stages of its making at times, but after a few broken beakers I thought it would have been best for him to stay out of there.   
  


“And then…” Aster pauses, his voice seeming to  get more quiet as the scene around you becomes more vibrant. Golden flower petals fall like a light snow around you, seemingly casting a veil over the Royal Scientist in front of you. “...a little Human fell down.” You lean forward, entranced. “Their name was--”    
  


You don't seem to catch it, but it doesn't seem to matter at this point. You're so immersed in the scene it's as if you are right there as it happened.   
  


You’re in the Ruins, the entrance to the Underground that was shut off from the world. Asriel helps up a fallen child, and brushes them off. They seem only to have hurt their wrist on the impact, as they are holding it to their body as Asriel helps them up. The Queen Toriel is the second to greet the kid, and followed soon after is Asgore.    
  


It's clear that the kid is sick or something, and they bring them to Aster together, asking for a bit of assistance. Aster is more an expert on Humans, if one could call him that. He is more clueless on that subject than he cares to admit, but agrees to try and help. On top of the Human being well… a Human, Aster is lousy with children and never knows how to act around them. He is trying though. The kid shies away from him at first, his gaunt, near skeletal appearance unsettling. “There...there… uh. Don't cry. I'm not going to hurt you,” he stammers nervously. “I just want to make sure you are not ill. I… I can help you if you are. My name is Doctor Gaster. You can call me WD if you want. What's… your name?”    
  


The child doesn't answer. They whimper instead, and hold their throat as if it hurts. “Can. Can I see, child? I can stop the pain.”    
  


His words make the kid flinch more, and tremble. It's apparent that they have been through a lot, and the concern is extremely evident on Aster’s face. It seems like it takes forever, but Aster finally gets through to them. Their throat is scarred over. Their irises a deep red-brown hue. “Well… I don't know if I can heal your voice right away, but we can work on that. Meanwhile, let me make sure you're not running a fever.”    
  


The examination continues, and the child seems much more calm than before. So does Aster. He brings them back to the Dreemurrs, and the child explains in their own way that they don't want to return to the surface. They're welcomed with open arms, despite their lineage as a Human. The whole kingdom rejoiced, as it seemed like this was a second chance in harmony with the ones that sealed them Underground.    
  


And that’s where Aster felt like life for Monsters found a peak. You could feel the pride for Monster kind swelling in your chest, the happiness unbridled. You remember something about the joy not lasting for too long, unfortunately.    
  


The scene, and your chest, becomes dark, and cold. It flickers to a bed, where the Human child lay lifeless. Aster checked their pulse one last time, and covered their face with the blanket before turning away to tend to the King and Queen. Asriel is left alone with his sibling. The child’s SOUL flickers into existence, and reluctantly, the Prince takes it and absorbs the energy. He transforms into a Monster that looks much like his parents, with black marks across his cheeks and hands. He lifts the Human child into his arms, and this scene fades into the next.    
  


Asriel is back, empty-handed and standing in a throne room carrying a bouquet of golden flowers. You can see that he’s fatally wounded. Taking a knee, then two, he begins to turn to dust. The King is the first to see him, then the Queen, and finally Aster. They all mourn around him as Asriel disappears into dust.    
  


The Underground mourned next.


End file.
